The Senate voted yesterday to make it a crime to take a pregnant minor to another state to obtain an abortion without her parents' knowledge, handing a long-sought victory to the Bush administration and abortion opponents.

The bill would help about three dozen states enforce laws that require minors to notify or obtain the consent of their parents before having an abortion. It would bar people -- including clergy members and grandparents -- from helping a girl cross state lines to avoid parental-involvement laws. Violations could result in a year in prison.
Their rationale? Parental rights.

Proponents of the Senate bill said it would protect girls from being pressured by their boyfriends into having an abortion. "It's an affirmation of parental rights," said Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.). "An underage child cannot obtain an aspirin at school without parental consent," he said, adding that parents' role in their young daughter's decision about abortion is far more significant.
Nothing like claiming an absurd school rule prohibiting aspirin for students to justify such a draconian law that makes it virtually impossible for an incest victim to take care of herself without the perpetrator's permission.

Of course, the fanciful "pressure from the boyfriend" scenario is what they tell you. But just as important is to protect the progeny rights of fathers who molest their daughters. (They won't tell you that.)

And where are the Democrats?

Democrats are pushing back, accusing Republicans of trying to frighten and divide the electorate rather than tackle tough issues such as high gasoline prices and the Iraq war. Senate Minority Leader Harry M. Reid (Nev.), an antiabortion Democrat who voted for the bill, will spend part of the summer stressing the need to prevent unwanted pregnancies, aides said....Give the girls hell, Harry.

Fifty-one Republicans and 14 Democrats voted for the bill, while four Republicans, 29 Democrats and one independent voted against it.Thus the "Big Tent" some would-be pundits like to blather about for the Democratic Party lets misogyny rain on women. No wonder they dropped the ERA from their platform.